Unfortunately, Paterno's legacy will always carry a sad stain

Tuesday

Jan 24, 2012 at 12:01 AMDec 12, 2018 at 8:39 AM

Joe Paterno lived a full life, but died unhappy and saddened by the events of the last four months.

By most accounts, the Penn State legend never lifted a finger to harm a young person in 60 years of coaching, but by not doing more to help those who were powerless to help themselves, he tarnished his legacy forever.

We knew the college football fraternity would wrap its collective arms around Paterno after he took his last breath Sunday.

Eighty-two-year-old Bobby Bowden spoke of a friendship that went back to when he attended a Paterno practice while working as an assistant at Howard College in 1962. Mack Brown said he openly wept at Sunday's news. Former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge said the old coach died "from a broken heart," though old age and lung cancer certainly played a role.

It was a mass showing of love, respect, and compassion from those who knew him best. If only Paterno had done the same for the nameless victims allegedly targeted by his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. A call to the higher-ups wasn't enough. Paterno acknowledged that fact.

That sordid episode makes any discussion of Paterno's legacy a difficult one, because he did so many good deeds and helped so many people.

He gave generously to local charities in State College, gave money to construct buildings on campus and coached one of the most respectable programs in college football history.

He was a friend to college football and a nice man by most accounts.

I spoke to him at the 2006 American Football Coaches Association convention in Dallas, and I remember him captivating the audience with his old-school humor after being named the organization's coach of the year. Paterno won by fewer than 100 votes over Brown, who had just led the Longhorns to a national championship.

"To be honest," Paterno told the crowd, "Mack deserves to be up here. I guess at 79 years of age, it was my last shot. But seriously, Mack is a friend and I congratulate him on a great year."

"I voted for Joe," Brown said, after the ceremony. "What a great coach and a great role model. He's forgotten more than I will ever know."

Paterno's contributions will never be forgotten. But we also won't forget these last few months that have soiled what had been a standup career.

After decades spent carefully protecting the brand that was Penn State football, his lack of response during Sandusky's alleged reign of terror pushed all of those good deeds to the back burner, making him one of several campus leaders who failed the fundamental mission of anyone involved in education: the development, nurturing and protection of young people.

The football career speaks for itself, but often we make the mistake of building up football coaches as larger-than-life deities who aren't capable of making mistakes.

We pay them millions more than some heads of state, and in other cases — including Paterno's — we even build statues in their honor.

Paterno's works outside the football offices helped define who he was at Penn State, and it was those works that made his fall so dramatic after the allegations became public.

Future stories will center on the tragic mishandling of the Sandusky case. Worse yet, Sandusky claimed Paterno never questioned him about the child abuse allegations that eventually brought down the coach.

Count me as one who isn't inclined to believe the statements of an accused child molester who professes his innocence to his day, but either way, Sandusky's alleged actions and Paterno's inaction over a decade (or more) are both infuriating and sad.

Paterno always preached accountability, and he was ultimately held accountable for his lack of action by surrendering the most important thing in his life next to his family: his whistle.

The subsequent failing of health was cruel in its timing, but not as cruel as the alleged treatment of Sandusky's accusers.

Paterno turned out to be a flawed human being, just like the rest of us. We're all accountable for our actions (good and bad), and Paterno was no different.

Paterno's legacy will be viewed from two sides — as a coaching legend who won more games than anyone else, and as the face of a university who didn't do enough in his position to stop a would-be monster from preying upon the innocent.

Many will say Paterno deserved better. But so do the victims.

cgolden@statesman.com; @cedgolden; 912-5944

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